As the demand for developing websites with multiple functionalities increases, choosing a web development language has become more critical. Different web development languages perform different functions and settling for the right language can sometimes become almost impossible. However, new developments have made it possible for a web developer to incorporate several scripting languages in to the web development process. This has definitely added dimension to this industry and made it possible to benefit from the distinct features of the various scripting languages available. When it comes to choosing a scripting language for web development, there are several languages that you can choose from. This article reviews some of the most common scripting languages for web development.
PHP has evolved to become one of the most popular open source programming languages in web development. This can be attributed to its simplicity and flexibility in addition to being absolutely free. Initially developed by a large community of members, it is the most updated language making it one of the most favored languages in the web development industry. However, the language has some shortcomings such as lack of sensitivity and event based errors. These errors can however be overlooked given the numerous benefits.
Java Server Pages (JSP) is another open source programming language that can be used even by people who are not conversant with JavaScript. It makes use of tag extensions which are very simple and clean. It stands out in that it allows Java tag library developers to incorporate simple tag handlers. However, it is not XML compliant and as such has to be used with HTML or XML. Perl on the other hand is a scripting language that is both powerful and mature. It offers the average web developer almost any tool they need and it is frequently updated to make it more efficient. It is however not ideal for people who do not like using different varieties of syntaxes.
ASP.NET is indisputably the most versatile open source programming language that can also be used with other compatible languages such as C, COBOL, Jscript, and Python among others. It is also compatible with Visual Studio, Webmatrix, C+ and C++ Builder. The language is quite sophisticated and requires background knowledge in order to exploit its features fully. It however has the disadvantage of being a bit slow in executing some operations.
The C language is a programming language initially designed for UNIX operating system but it has since been used on other operating systems. It is efficient and popular for writing applications as well as writing system software. C++ was developed as “C with Classes” with the goal of adding data abstraction and object oriented features to C.
Cold Fusion is a scripting language based on HTML that is mainly used to write dynamic pages. It allows you to query data from a database, create object oriented enterprise level applications as well as use hundreds of inbuilt functions and tags. The tags are mainly HTML, integrated with Cold Fusion Markup Language Tags. It has the advantage of being easily compatible with many Adobe Technologies.